Lucky
by Rae Sedona
Summary: Francis Bonnefoy and Alice Kirkland had been together for five years when Francis decided to propose. However, the day he planned to do so, their lives ended up shattering instead of falling together. Will Francis and Alice make it through the biggest problem their relationship has ever encountered, or will their love fall to ruins?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Story inspired by the following songs: 'Lucky' by Jason Mraz and Colbie Caillat, 'Say Something' by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera, and 'Just Give Me A Reason' by P!nk and Nate Ruess.**

* * *

 **Chapter One**

Francis Bonnefoy wore a huge smile as he walked into the jeweler's that morning, thinking of his beloved, Alice Kirkland. He had quite a special day planned for them, unbeknownst to her. He had secretly taken the day off work, but left at the same time he usually did so she did not suspect anything. He was required to wear a suit for his job, but made sure to wear the nicest one he had today, pairing it with Alice's favorite tie of his and his least worn pair of dress shoes.

One of the workers looked up and smiled brightly, recognizing him from his previous visit when he had ordered and paid for the ring.

"Welcome back, sir. Francis Bonnefoy, was it?" She asked cheerily.

"That would be me." Francis answered, his eyes twinkling.

"One moment, I'll be right back with your order." The woman said before disappearing into the back of the shop.

Francis waited patiently for her to return, though he was hardly able to contain his excitement. He had the most lovely day planned for him and Alice; first, he would surprise her with coming home, saying he had gotten to work only to be told he had the day off, then, he would give her the roses and tea. After that, he was going to take her to their favorite spot at the park they frequented for a picnic. That evening, would take her to the fanciest restaurant in town, and there, he would get down on one knee, present the ring to her, and pour his heart out to her before asking her to be his wife.

The woman returned and handed him the box, smiling warmly, of course, knowing what the ring was for. "Congratulations, sir."

"Thank you very much." Francis replied, unable to wait until he got back to the car before opening it and looking at the ring. Just as he had imagined, it was perfect. The ring was silver and made to look like tiny leaves and flowers had swirled together in an elegant dance, with diamonds placed as the hearts of the flowers and with smaller ones dotting the leaves. She was going to adore it.

After another long moment of gazing at the ring, Francis closed the box, slipped it into his pocket, and left after bidding the woman a good day. Next, he drove to Alice's favorite tea shop and the second he stepped inside, smiled wider than he already had been, the smell of it bringing memories of all the times they had visited there together. He exchanged a brief friendly greeting with the shopkeeper, who knew him by name at this point, and walked to the wall of the more expensive teas. Very, very rarely did Alice splurge and buy her absolute favorite tea, as for a reasonable amount of it, it was an absurd price of two hundred and forty pounds. Francis, at first, found it completely ridiculous that she was willing to pay such a price for it, but then she had told him to imagine if it were wine, and he understood completely.

Without hesitating, he grabbed the expensive brand of Earl Grey tea and took it to the register.

"Not with your little lady today?" The shopkeeper, Yao, asked inquiringly as he scanned the tea and wrapped it, per Francis's request.

"Mm, no, not today. I want to surprise her." He says fondly, counting out the proper amount and putting it on the counter.

"Well, this definitely will. She has only gotten the expensive Earl Grey once, and it wasn't half this much. And that's in all the years she has been coming here." Yao said, handing him the tea and putting the money in the cash register. "Thank you for your purchase."

Francis smiled at him and nodded in appreciation as he left, humming happily to himself as he got into the car and drove to the florist's. When he arrived, he bought a dozen red roses, delighted to find that they were flawless and smelled particularly sweet. He took them to the car and laid them with care on the passenger seat, not wanting even a single petal to be marred.

He had gotten things for the picnic yesterday, so as soon as he left the florist's, he was on his way home. When he arrived, Francis got out of his car and took up the roses and package of tea before walking to the door, the lyrics to his and Alice's song popping into his mind as he dreamily wondered if they would dance to it at their wedding. He hoped so.

 _Do you hear me? I'm talking to you. Across the water, across the deep blue ocean under the open sky. Oh my, baby, I'm trying._

The two had been together for five years now, since Alice was eighteen and Francis was twenty-three, and for the past two, had lived together in that lovely little house. They had created so many wonderfully fond memories there, and he cherished them all, the good and the bad. Every 'I love you' and kiss, and every tear shed and hardship they had fought through. Every terrible meal Alice had made and every night they had fallen asleep in one another's embrace, he held each dear memory close to his heart.

 _Boy, I hear you in my dreams, feel your whisper across the sea. I keep you with me in my heart, you make it easier when life gets hard._

Francis opened the door and felt his heartbeat quicken in excitement as he closed it behind him. How he was going to bear waiting until tonight, he didn't know, but he hoped he would be able to; he wanted today to be absolutely perfect. He kept his footsteps as light as he could as he checked the living room and then the kitchen, moving onto the bedroom, where she was likely reading in bed, the package of tea and the bouquet a red roses in either of his hands.

 _I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. They don't know how long it takes, waiting for a love like this. Every time we say goodbye, I wish we had one more kiss. I'll wait for you, I promise you, I will._

He heard a rustling behind the closed door and grinned; she was in there, after all. He moved to hold the tea under the arm with the roses and carefully turned the doorknob before inching the door open.

 _I'm lucky I'm in love with my best friend. Lucky to have been where I have been. Lucky to be coming home again. Lucky we're in love in every way. Lucky to have stayed where we have stayed. Lucky to be coming home someday._

Francis heard the breaking of a kiss, followed by light panting and a soft giggle, causing him to pause in pushing the door open. What had that been…? They didn't have a TV in their room…. A whisper of a thought echoed in his mind, but he promptly ignored it before it could plant itself and grow into suspicion. Alice wouldn't do that. No way in hell would she do that. The lyrics to their song were about to continue playing in his mind and he was going to step into the room when he heard the unmistakable, accented voice of his lover breathily say to man that most certainly wasn't him.

"Undress me, Alfred."

The words pierced Francis's heart, causing it to pound with dread and his mouth to grow dry. _No…._ He thought. _There has to be an explanation. Alice wouldn't…._ Francis forced himself to push the door the rest of the way open and when his eyes met the scene in front of him, his heart shattered. He...he had been wrong.

Alice was laying on their bed, obviously not protesting as the man straddling her unbuttoned the top of her pajamas. Her hand even ran up and down the man's torso as he did so, in the same way she always did to Francis when they made love. He recognized the man as their good friend, Alfred, though he already had suspected it was him from her words before. He dizzily recalled that he and Alice had been lovers in their youth, and felt ill as he wondered just how long this had been going on behind his back.

The ache in his chest only grew and grew as he watched them, unable to tear his eyes away. This couldn't be happening. It had to just be a bad dream...this wasn't real. It couldn't be. He was going to propose….

Francis didn't realize he had dropped the flowers and tea until both Alice and Alfred had gasped and looked over at him. He watched as shock replaced Alfred's smile and utter horror replaced Alice's, feeling a physical pain in his heart as he stared into her wide, green eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

None of them moved for what felt like a very long time, Francis being the first to act. Instead of surging forward and beating the hell out of Alfred, like he wanted to do, he stumbled backward and fled to the back garden. He collapsed in the grass by a gardenia bush and pulled his knees to his chest before hugging them tightly and bursting into a fit of sobbing. Thoughts churned through his mind, darting around at rapid speeds he could hardly keep up with. Though they changed many times, ranging from trying to convince himself he hadn't seen what he did to fleeing England and going back to France, one remained the same. _Alice cheated on you._

How he was supposed to react to this, he didn't know. He thought he had experienced all there was to experience in relationships; breaking hearts, having his own broken, long distance, living together, abstinence, purely physical, but this? He had never cheated or experienced the pain of being cheated on before, and he wish he never had. It hurt more than when he had his first true heartbreak, and ached much worse than when he had seen an ex-lover with someone else for the first time. This agony was far deeper than anything he'd felt; it was as if his very soul had been crushed.

Francis had always thought that he was a good lover, even prided himself in it and considered it as part of his identity. But now...now he was unsure. Was he truly as attentive and loving as he strived to always be, or had he let his pride prevent him from seeing the truth? Was he neglectful and selfish? ...no, he had made sure to do his very best, even when he didn't feel up to it. But if it wasn't that, what was it? _Alice. It's Alice's fault._ A thought answered. _You are blameless; she was the one who cheated, not you._

He merely sat there in the garden and cried for a good long while, not bothering to tame his thoughts, instead letting them run free. He didn't have the will to sort them out, not now. When no more tears would come, he lifted his face from where it had been buried against his knees and stared ahead of him. He knew he would have to speak to Alice sooner or later, and even though that was the last thing he wanted to do, he forced himself to stand. He wanted to get this over with as quickly as possible.

Wiping his cheeks and nose with his expensive suit sleeve, Francis swallowed back the lump in his throat and with shaky steps, made his way back toward the house. He was sure he looked positively awful from crying so much, but he found that he didn't care at all. He walked through the back door, having left it open, and closed it behind him before continuing further into the house. There was absolute silence, which didn't surprise him. He had thought Alice would've at least stayed to explain herself, but her apparent absence proved yet again that she wasn't who he had thought she was.

Numbly, Francis went to their bedroom to pack his things; there was no way he could bear staying in this house after what had just happened. He saw that the roses and tea were still on the floor where he had dropped them and gritted his teeth. To think of how excited he had been to give them to her made him feel sick.

He looked away from them and walked into the room, freezing when he saw Alice curled up in a corner of the room, her body shaking as she sobbed. Francis's first instinct was to kneel beside her and comfort her, but he shoved that thought away. She had been sleeping with Alfred behind his back, and he would not have sympathy for her.

He said nothing as he walked past her and to the closet, where he got down a few suitcases and began to carelessly pack his clothes. Alice looked up when she heard the footsteps, gripping her arms tightly in panic when she saw what he was doing.

"F-Francis…." She croaked out, her voice hoarse. She stood on her shaky legs and took a step toward him, afraid to go any closer lest he move away from her.

He grit his teeth at hearing her speak and paused his packing, showing that he was listening. As much as he knew it would hurt, he needed to hear what she was going to say.

"I...I'm so s-sorry…." She whispered. "I still l-love yo-"

Francis shoved the decorations off the dresser in his anger at hearing her start to say that, causing the glass to shatter loudly against the hardwood floor.

"Don't you _dare_ try to tell me that." He spat, his voice low. "If you loved me, you never would've even thought of kissing another man, much less sleeping with him."

He heard Alice's sobs increase at that and refused to let himself care.

"Y-you've been so distant...I-I was afraid that I was l-losing you and-"

Francis let out a bitter, humorless laugh. "So you're telling me that it's my fault. That _you_ cheating on _me_ is _my_ fault. How exactly did I force you to sleep with him?"

"I-I...you d-didn't…." She replied quietly, still crying.

"Then why did you do it? Don't you dare try to blame it on me again, or I swear to God, I will leave and never return." He said coldly.

Alice was silent for several long moments before taking a deep, shuddering breath and speaking. "I am an i-idiot. A stupid, bloody idiot."

"I know." He hissed. "But that's not a reason why."

"You've been so busy lately, and I-I thought that was because you didn't love me an-anymore…and then Alfred and I started t-talking more, and…."

"Bullshit. You know I love you. I've told you every day for the past five years."

"But I-"

"Stop." Francis said, his voice breaking. "I don't want to hear any more of this. Get out of here while I pack my things." He remembered a certain black box in his pocket and with his heart weighed down by grief, took it out and didn't look at her as he tossed it toward her. He heard it clatter on the floor. "I don't know how I feel about giving it to you anymore...but I do know that I don't want it with me."

Alice gasped softly and knelt to pick up the box, her hands shaking madly. She opened it, and despite having thought the pain and guilt in her chest couldn't get any worse, it doubled when she saw the ring inside. It was then she fully realized the extent of what she had done and her sorrow grew beyond the shedding of tears. Without another word, she left the room.

Francis didn't look at her as she left and went right back to packing his things. Ten minutes later, he had cleared out the bare minimum of clothing, necessities, and a few sentimental items and had them stored away in the two suitcases that were his. He grabbed a few other things and stored them in the spare space in one of them, such as a family photo, his phone charger, and a few bottles of his most prized wine. Stepping around the broken glass, he left the bedroom and walked to the front door.

Unsurprisingly, he had not seen Alice, which he was nevertheless relieved about. He didn't know if he could hold his tongue if he encountered her again so soon, and the words that came to mind were anything but kind. As he put his bags in his car and got in, he resisted the urge to give one last look at the house before he left for...he didn't know for sure how long. There was nothing he knew for sure right now, except that he wanted to curl up with a bottle of wine or two and drink until he could no longer remember his own name, much less why his heart ached with each beat.


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

Francis went straight to Gilbert's apartment when he left his and Alice's house, knowing that Antonio, who he was going to ask to stay with, was at work. Gilbert, however, was unemployed and more than likely at home, as he almost always was. He got out of his car and locked it before going to Gilbert's door and entering without knocking, knowing that the albino would much rather him walk right in than make him get up and answer the door.

"If you're some kind of robber, do us both a favor and leave!" Gilbert's thickly accented voice called out at hearing the door. "There ain't any shit here worth stealing, try the neighbor's instead!"

"It's me, Gilbert." Francis called back numbly, nowhere near being in the mood to laugh.

"Oh, bummer." He replied with faux disappointment. "The hell brings you here, Scheiße kofp?"

Francis walked to the couch, where Gilbert was playing Xbox in sweatpants and a t-shirt far too big for him, and sat next to him, staring blankly at the coffee table, which was riddled with empty beer cans and various other pieces of trash. "I-I...do you remember when I told you I was going to propose to Alice…?"  
"Ja, duh!" Gilbert said, his crimson eyes still fixated on the TV as he played. "Did you do it?"

"I was going to today, but...she, when I came to surprise her with a day out, was...in bed…."

"What's so bad about that?"

"...she...she was with Alfred." He said, his voice hardly above a whisper.

The sounds of Gilbert pressing the buttons and nudging the joysticks on his controller immediately stopped. He looked at him, his eyes wide. " _What_?"

"I didn't misspeak." Francis said, just as quietly as before.

"She-she cheated on you?!" Gilbert asked, anger raising the tone of his voice.

Francis pulled his legs onto the couch and hugged his knees to his chest for the second time that day, not bothering to reply, as Gilbert knew he wouldn't ever lie about this.

"That little piece of-" Gilbert broke off and began cursing in German, and Francis didn't have to be fluent to know that he was talking about Alice, and not in a kind way. Normally, he would do whatever it took to silence someone speaking bad about his beloved, no matter what language it was in, but right now, he found that he didn't care.

"Gott…." Gilbert said after a moment of silence. "Do you want a drink?"

"Please...I have wine in my car that I can ge-"

"No. Not nearly strong enough." He muttered, standing.

He walked to the kitchen and grabbed a bottle of rum. He opened it on his way back to the couch and passed it to Francis, who gratefully took a huge swig. Gilbert plopped down next to him, frowning deeply, and Francis passed him the rum after taking another large drink of it.

"I officially hate your girlfr-...Alice." He quickly corrected himself, too mad to call her that.

"...can we not talk about it?" Francis asked quietly. He knew if Gilbert continued to speak of her, he'd end up crying again, and the German always got quite uncomfortable when someone was crying around him. He wanted genuine comfort next time he let himself fall apart, not awkward back pats and ungenuine reassurances like he would've gotten from Gilbert.

He grabbed the bottle of rum as it was passed to him and swallowed several mouthfuls. God, he couldn't get drunk quick enough.

* * *

Alice hadn't stopped staring at the ring since Francis left. It hurt like hell to do so, but she forced herself to anyways. She didn't deserve to not be in pain, not after what she had done. She sat on the bathroom floor and turned the piece of jewlery slowly, watching the diamonds glisten and sparkle in the light streaming in from the window, each tiny twinkle making her aching heart twinge.

 _What the hell was I thinking?_ Alice silently asked herself. _I don't know anymore...God, I've ruined everything. Francis hates me...and rightfully so. I cheated on him. Only once...nearly twice, but God, the amount of times doesn't matter, does it? I did it and that's what makes me unfaithful. A liar. A betrayer. A cheater._

The ring fell from her shaking hands and she watched it clatter on the ground, causing a sharp metallic cling to sound through the air. It bounced a few times and settled on the tile floor, and she continued to stare at it. This continued for several minutes before her phone rang and she took it out of her pocket and looked at it apathetically. It was Elizabeta, her friend and Gilbert's sort of girlfriend. Though she didn't want to, she answered it, knowing she likely wouldn't stop calling until she did.

"What?" Alice asked, her voice hoarse.

"What's going on? Gilbert just texted me saying that Francis is at his place in a complete wreck because of you...did you two have another big fight or something, hon…?" Elizabeta replied, sounding both sympathetic and concerned.

Alice was silent for a little while. "I…. C-can you come over? I don't want to explain over the phone." _...or at all,_ she added in her head.

"Of course. I'm on my way right now. Can I get you anything? You don't sound so good…."

"No. See you soon." Alice said, hanging up before Elizabeta could say anything more. God, she didn't want to have to tell her. She didn't want to tell anyone. She was ashamed and full of regret, and she just wanted to undo and forget what she had done.

She slipped her phone back into her pocket, picked up the ring, put it back into the velvet box, and stood. She left the bathroom and went to the bedroom, where she avoided the broken glass and set the ring box on the dresser. After a long moment of staring at it, she turned away and got a broom and dustpan. Alice brushed up the glass into a pile, swept it into the pan, and threw it away. She then went to the living room and sat on the couch, hugging a pillow close to her chest as she waited for Elizabeta to arrive.

She didn't have to wait long, as about five minutes later, there was a knock and then the opening of her front door.

"Alice?" Elizabeta called out as she walked inside and closed the door behind her. "Where are you?"

"Living room." She replied, not bothering to raise her voice.

Elizabeta didn't hear her, or so she assumed, as it took her a minute to find where she was.

"God...Alice?" She gasped as soon as she saw her and rushed over. "What happened, sweetie? Are you okay?"

Alice numbly shook her head and bit her trembling lip. "N-no, I'm not okay."

Elizabeta sat next to her and took one of her hands in both of hers. "Shh...just take a few deep breaths. Everything is going to be all right."

"N-no, it's not! I bloody cheated on him!" She said, yanking her hand away as she began to sob.

Elizabeta looked shocked and immediately pulled her into a hug, despite Alice's efforts to push her away. She hushed her as best she could and rocked her back and forth, refusing to let her go despite the attempts to get her to.

"Alice, breathe...just take deep breaths. I'm not letting you go until you calm down."

Alice continued to try to break free, but Elizabeta only held her tighter. Eventually, she gave in and took a few deep breaths, feeling herself relax even though she didn't want to. She hiccupped as her sobs died down and hugged Elizabeta back for comfort.

"Just breathe, sweetie…."

"He-he he was going to propose...today." She mumbled, the ache in her heart increasing at saying it aloud.

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to…." Elizabeta stated quietly. "If it's too painful, don't force yourself…."

"He was going to propose, and when he came t-to surprise me...I was about to bloody shag A-Alfred...again."

Elizabeta said nothing and stroked her hair to help her calm down more.

"I-It was only once...but that doesn't m-matter…I-I slept with another m-man. I-I've lost him, Eliza. I've lost Fr-Francis forever."

Elizabeta continued to remain silent, which Alice was thankful for. She knew she had done something unforgivable and she didn't know if she could bear hearing another voice other than her own tell her so.


End file.
